The present invention relates to the field of data presentation and, more particularly, to the dynamic presentation of a results set by a form-based software application.
It is common for software applications to present users with information retrieved from a database. The database executes a query and returns a results set of records to the calling software application. Presentation and/or formatting of the data contained in the results set is performed by the software application; typically, using a predefined template or form definition. Thus, current approaches create a static, one-to-one relationship between a data element of the results set and how it is visually presented to the user.
To overcome this static display, many conventional software applications allow the user to indicate preferences regarding how data is presented. However, these preferences are limited to options that are supported by the corresponding form definition or template. That is, the designer of the form or template being used to present the results set retains control over how the data is allowed to be displayed. Thus, the effectiveness of the data's presentation is dependent upon the designer's skill with the software application.
Further, many conventional software applications limit the presentation of results sets to a tabular format. While a table is typically sufficient for viewing textual data, numerical data often requires reference points or additional calculation. For example, a value of ‘3’ for a rating is ambiguous without knowing the limits of the rating scale. Thus, presenting the rating as a slider bar spanning the minimum and maximum limit values of the rating scale with the bar at the value ‘3’ provides the user with all the necessary information in a single visual package; presenting the values of the rating and the limits of the rating scale alphanumerically requires the user to take additional time to mentally visualize this same relationship between the values.